China churned out 68.91 million tonnes of crude steel in August, up 1% from a year earlier, with the daily production rate of 2.20 million tonnes largely unchanged from July.

Despite a slowing economy, particularly from the property sector, China's daily crude steel output has exceeded 2013's record of 2.188 million tonnes every month, as mills have been reluctant to reduce output amid fears that credit could be cut off and that market share could be seized by rival.

This has exacerbated a supply glut and caused spot steel product prices to tumble to their lowest in eight years, while steel rebar futures on the Shanghai Futures Exchange are also at their lowest ever.

The China Iron and Steel Association has warned producers not to expect any loosening of credit restrictions in the fourth quarter and urged them to refrain from raising production as the traditional peak consumption season approaches.

The National Bureau of Statistics said that China's crude steel output in August rose 1% from a year earlier but fell 0.9% from July to 68.91 million metric tonnes.

The level was largely in line with analyst expectations that production conditions haven't changed much from two months ago, with steel demand remaining lackluster while low raw material prices underpin supply. Output in the first eight months of the year rose 2.6% on year to 550.1 million tonnes.